Rob Yarin Named Executive Producer of ‘Meet the Press’

After Betsy Fischer Martin leaves her post as senior executive producer of “Meet the Press,” Rob Yarin will step in to lead the NBC public affairs show.

Since 1999, Yarin has worked as the senior vice president of programming for Frank N. Magid Associates. In this role, he has worked as a programming and news consultant for several news outlets, including NBC News and MSNBC. He has worked as an advisor to “Meet the Press” and an executive producer of “Race for the White House,” David Gregory’s daily election show on MSNBC in 2008.

“Rob is a seasoned journalist and industry expert who understands the worlds of television, politics and social media and how they converge to create compelling and informative programming,” NBC News senior vice president Antoine Sanfuentes said in a statement. “Rob’s knowledge and experience will be a tremendous asset to ‘Meet the Press,’ as the show continues to make news and drive the political conversation each week.”

Yarin will officially take over as executive producer of “Meet the Press” on August 4. More in NBC’s official announcement after the jump.

JUNE 20, 2013 — Veteran news executive Rob Yarin has been named Executive Producer of NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” the country’s leading Sunday morning public affairs hour. Yarin will report to Antoine Sanfuentes, NBC News Senior Vice President, and will join the show on Sunday, August 4.

Yarin takes over for Betsy Fischer Martin, who is transitioning from her role as Senior Executive Producer of “Meet the Press” to focus full time on her position as Managing Editor of Political Programming for NBC News, a role she was promoted to in March.

Said Sanfuentes: “Rob is a seasoned journalist and industry expert who understands the worlds of television, politics and social media and how they converge to create compelling and informative programming. Rob’s knowledge and experience will be a tremendous asset to ‘Meet the Press,’ as the show continues to make news and drive the political conversation each week.”

David Gregory, Moderator of “Meet the Press” said, “I’ve known Rob since my earliest days at NBC News, including our work together covering the ’08 campaign. His creativity as a producer and his political smarts are the perfect combination for the future of ‘Meet the Press.’” He added, “I am sorry to see Betsy leave the show, but I’m thrilled for her and look forward to all the work we will do together in her new role.”

Yarin joins NBC News from Frank N. Magid Associates where he was the Senior Vice President of Programming since 1999. In that role he served as a programming and news consultant for a wide range of leading news organizations, including broadcast and digital networks, local television stations, newspapers and cable and satellite television networks. He was also instrumental in crafting digital transition strategies for multiple television and print organizations. In 2008 Yarin also worked as the Executive Producer of “Race for the White House,” a daily election program hosted by David Gregory that aired on MSNBC, and he has served as an advisor to “Meet the Press.”

Yarin stated, “I am thrilled to be joining NBC News to work with David Gregory and the outstanding ‘Meet the Press’ team. The show is an important part of the political landscape, and I am honored to be associated with this longstanding tradition.”

Previously, Yarin was the Executive Producer of “Hardball with Chris Matthews,” when the show aired on CNBC. He was instrumental in reformatting the program, doubling its ratings which led to the show’s expansion to one hour and position as CNBC’s top-rated primetime program. Before that, Yarin held a number of producing roles within the news industry including Executive Producer of Morning Programming at WBIS+/Dow Jones and Senior Editor of “Front Page,” at Fox News. Earlier in his career Yarin worked as the Managing Editor of “Entertainment Tonight” and was a local news producer at several television stations including KCBS-TV and KNBC.

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